A method of manufacturing a page-width wire printhead is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,986 to Escriva et al. Closely spaced wire windings are laid down on a revolving drum and retained in place by an adhesive substrate previously mounted on the drum. The cylinder comprising the adhesive substrate and wire windings is cut, removed from the drum and spead into a flat sheet. The wire side of the sheet is then placed in contact with the epoxy surface of an elongated plate. After the epoxy has dried, the adhesive substrate is removed and the newly exposed side of the wire is placed in contact with the epoxy surface of a second elongated plate. The resultant sandwichlike structure is then trimmed and polished to form a wire printhead.
The precise interwire spacing required of a page-width printhead cannot be assured using the Escriva et al. method. Since the wire is laid shown on a revolving drum and retained in place by an adhesive, any winding irregularities or winding tension variations will result in improperly spaced windings. Further, the removal of the cylinder from the drum and subsequent cylinder flattening may result in further winding deformation and consequent inaccurate print wire spacing. The cylinder removal and flattening steps are likewise not amenable to mass production techniques, especially if the winding spacing is not to be disturbed.